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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 28, 2017 20:24:40 GMT -5
Well, I did some cabs on nails today. I have to say.... I don't like it. The nail, although a big nail, was too small to be comfortable and too hard to grip well. The wheel was making it spin in my hand if I didn't have a death grip on it. I don't like it for big cabs, at all. Smaller ones weren't as bad. I held the cab with a kitchen tong and heated behind the nail head with a stationary butane torch to get it off. BUT, I did get some cabbing done that I otherwise would not have been able to do. I'm gonna be trying some new here soon.
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Post by Pat on Nov 28, 2017 20:41:08 GMT -5
Tela, I have big bolts with flat heads. The handle is at least twice that of a nail.
I prefer not dopping; just use hands. Better control.
Good looking cabs!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 28, 2017 20:46:23 GMT -5
Beautiful cabs! Love the Needles Blue.
Get yourself a nice fat dowel and drill a hole in the middle so you can stick the nail in there and hold onto the dowel instead. Make the hole small enough so the nail sticks in there good.
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 28, 2017 21:16:56 GMT -5
Beautiful cabs! Love the Needles Blue. Get yourself a nice fat dowel and drill a hole in the middle so you can stick the nail in there and hold onto the dowel instead. Make the hole small enough so the nail sticks in there good. I was thinking the same thing. Or better yet screw in flat head hex screws so they can be removed from the dowel when done or replaced.
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Post by gmitch067 on Nov 28, 2017 21:45:15 GMT -5
Well, I did some cabs on nails today. I have to say.... I don't like it. The nail, although a big nail, was too small to be comfortable and too hard to grip well. The wheel was making it spin in my hand if I didn't have a death grip on it. I don't like it for big cabs, at all. Smaller ones weren't as bad. I held the cab with a kitchen tong and heated behind the nail head with a stationary butane torch to get it off. BUT, I did get some cabbing done that I otherwise would not have been able to do. I'm gonna be trying some new here soon. I thought subjecting the dopped stone to freezing temps (like the kitchen freezer) releases the stone from the dopping handle? For hand cabbing, especially with my arthritic hands, I find it very difficult to control a small stone on the sand papers. As such, it looks like I also need to resort to dopping with a handle that is more easily gripped. I am only able to firmly grip a dop stick using the thumb, index finger and little finger of either hand (even my arthritis if symmetrical! LOL!). The idea of driving the dop nail (or screw) into a larger dowel is appealing... must try that. The cabs are all beautiful Tela. I find myself drawn mostly to the Tiffany stone for its complexity (clouds of an erupting volcano)... also to the Sonora Sunrise for its contrasts.
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fishnpinball
Cave Dweller
So much to learn, so little time
Member since March 2017
Posts: 1,491
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Post by fishnpinball on Nov 28, 2017 22:15:36 GMT -5
Beautiful cabs! Love the Needles Blue. Get yourself a nice fat dowel and drill a hole in the middle so you can stick the nail in there and hold onto the dowel instead. Make the hole small enough so the nail sticks in there good. I was going to say the same thing....
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letitridek
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2017
Posts: 55
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Post by letitridek on Nov 28, 2017 22:51:30 GMT -5
i use nails all the time get a pin vise from rio grande and you can use any size nail they come with different size collers i got the brass one its great
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70karmann
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2011
Posts: 190
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Post by 70karmann on Nov 28, 2017 23:15:52 GMT -5
Dowell with a nail works great.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,623
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Post by QuailRiver on Nov 28, 2017 23:26:26 GMT -5
I really like the Tiffany and Sonora Sunrise cabs! But out of curiosity, why do you not like using wooden dop sticks and green dop wax for cabbing non-heat sensitive materials?
Larry C.
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 28, 2017 23:47:12 GMT -5
I really like the Tiffany and Sonora Sunrise cabs! But out of curiosity, why do you not like using wooden dop sticks and green dop wax for cabbing non-heat sensitive materials? Larry C. I do like using wax and wooden dowels. I have it down to an art. Not messy, works fine. Problem is once it starts getting cold the cabs come off the dop stick. The wax doesn't like my room temperature and I'm not cranking up the heat just to cab. I don't like it too warm in the house. All our sinuses dry out. I'm not using a humidifier, either. So, I figured I'd try glue.
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 28, 2017 23:49:00 GMT -5
So, if I am going to put a nail in a dowel, how do I heat the nail to get the cab off the nail? I guess I could leave the nail sticking out a bit. I'm actually getting ready to try something else that's coming in the mail. I think it will work out great.
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Post by MsAli on Nov 29, 2017 0:07:39 GMT -5
Cant wait to see what you do with these. Especially that Tiffany.
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Post by fernwood on Nov 29, 2017 6:53:44 GMT -5
Tiffany stone is great. As are all.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Nov 29, 2017 9:09:28 GMT -5
Can't wait to see a proper picture of that Needles Blue, that looks like a sweet one.
Search for a thread by LarryS about maybe 3 years ago about dopping. He and a bunch of people shared some solutions they had - Larry ended up finding some double sided tape that worked well, as weird as that sounds, and he posted good links to it.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Nov 29, 2017 9:47:30 GMT -5
I also like dop wax and wooden dowels. My shop is in the basement so during the winter months here in Michigan I start to have issues. I use gravity feed water on my genie so during the winter months I just empty the reservoir before each cabbing session and fill it with really hot tap water. I have had good luck with that and the warm water is really nice to work with.
Chuck
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2017 10:33:36 GMT -5
Add lac to the wax to make it stickier and work better at low temperatures Won't take much. www.shellac.net
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Nov 29, 2017 10:41:25 GMT -5
Add lac to the wax to make it stickier and work better at low temperatures Won't take much. www.shellac.netActually, I make a solution of denatured alcohol and shellac that I keep in a very small bottle. I paint it on my cabs before I dop. It only takes a few seconds and my cabs never come off the dop. Sometimes they don't even come off easily after I have them in the freezer for a while and I have to help them off.
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Dec 14, 2017 12:44:52 GMT -5
Nice cabs!
Nothing beats wooden golf tees for dopping. Cheap as chips, variable lengths. Put a small bead of any old carpenter's glue around the top edge, and let dry overnight. Then coat the glue with two coats of colorless nail polish. To remove, soak in water. The pointy ends of the tees are quickly rounded off with your coarse wheel. I dop ten or fifty stones at a time, it goes quickly.
It's as close as perfect a dopping procedure as I've ever found. Drawbacks are not being able to work the back of the stone or break the bottom edge; and the drying time, but they're pretty minor drawbacks concerned to burning-hot wax that never sticks properly, having to heat the stone, etc.
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 14, 2017 12:50:03 GMT -5
I have a new system that I'll be talking about soon. I'm a very happy cabber now.
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Dec 14, 2017 13:14:39 GMT -5
I have a new system that I'll be talking about soon. I'm a very happy cabber now. I can't wait! Always interested in news of cutting edge dopping tech. Lynn
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